Wednesday, July 31, 2013

May 29, 1934 - July 14, 2013 Stanley Margolis passed away
at UCLA Medical on Sunday July, 14. Stanley was born and raised in London,
England and was a gifted athlete. He was a member of the All-England Schoolboys
cricket team and well-respected boxer. Known as a financial wiz kid he became
an accountant and entrepreneur. He and partners Tony Tenser and Laurie Marsh
formed British Tigon Films, producing many popular films including "Hannie
Caluder," staring Raquel Welch. Stanley produced "True Romance."
Stanley bred and raced greyhounds. His dog Black Jack Dealer was the 1986
Championship Winner at Naples-Fort Myers Dog Track 3-8 mile Derby. In 1976
Stanley moved with his family to Southern California. He founded FinMgt where
he managed the business affairs of well-known artists. His parents; Samuel and
Ivy; Sister, Frances, and brother-in law, Paul Swanson; and son Alex preceded
him in death. He is survived by wife Angela, daughter Rachel, son-in-law, David
and grandchildren, Cynthia and Christopher.

French actor and director Michel Lemoine died at his home
in Vinon, Centre, France on July 27, 2013. He was 90.

Lemoine made ​​his film debut in late 1943 and worked for
directors such as Sacha Guitry and Julien Duvivier. His physique gave him the
opportunity to compete for roles as a romantic leading man but also to explore
roles as mysterious and disturbing characters. Throughout the 1960s, he toured
extensively in Italy, in peplums, spaghetti westerns and in fantasy films. He
also worked for Jess Franco and José Bénazéraf. In the 1970s he was seen mainly
in erotic films.

As a director he mingled eroticism with drama and comedy
working with Janine Reynaud and his wife, along with his favorite performers,
Martine Azencot, Nathalie Zeiger and Marie-Hélène Kingdom.

He turned reluctantly towards making pornographic films
using his most often pseudonym Michel Leblanc directing Olinka Hardiman who he
made a star of X films (“Marilyn, mon amour”). In 1976, his film “Les Week-ends
maléfiques du Comte Zaroff” was prohibited in theaters by French censorship.

He left the acting profession in the 1990s, and made only
sporadic appearances.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Eileen Brennan, who starred in 'Private Benjamin' and
other films, dies

By Todd Leopold, CNN

updated 4:02 PM EDT, Tue July 30, 2013

Eileen Brennan, who earned an Oscar nomination for her
hilarious turn as the exasperated drill captain in 1980's "Private
Benjamin," has died, CNN has confirmed. She was 80.

Brennan died Sunday at her Burbank, California, home
after a battle with bladder cancer, her management company said.

"Our family is so grateful for the outpouring of
love and respect for Eileen," her family said in a statement. "She
was funny and caring and truly one of a kind. Her strength and love will never
be forgotten. She will be greatly missed by all of us."

Brennan was known for character roles as sassy, brassy
women, the kind with a sandpaper surface but a light, pure heart.

She played a waitress in "The Last Picture
Show" (1971), the wife of Paul Newman's conman in "The Sting"
(1973), a wisecracking maid in "At Long Last Love" (1975) and Mrs.
Peacock in "Clue" (1985). She also did a great deal of television,
including a reprise of her "Private Benjamin" role in the TV series
of the same name.

Other TV appearances included guest shots on
"Taxi," "thirtysomething," "ER," "Murder,
She Wrote," "Mad About You," "Touched by an Angel" and
six episodes of "Will & Grace." The latter earned her an Emmy
nomination, one of seven she earned in her career -- including one that
resulted in a win, a supporting actress-comedy pick for "Private
Benjamin."

Verla Eileen Regina Brennan was born in Los Angeles in
1932, the daughter of a doctor and a silent-film actress. After several small
stage roles, she finally earned notice for her 1959 off-Broadway turn as
"Little Mary Sunshine," for which she won an Obie. Five years later,
she gained fame for her performance as Irene Molloy, one of the woman who falls
victim to Dolly Levi's matchmaking skills, in the 1960s hit musical
"Hello, Dolly!"

In 1982, Brennan was involved in a horrific accident,
struck by a car as she exited a restaurant with "Benjamin" co-star
Goldie Hawn. She suffered broken bones in her face, an eyeball pulled from its
socket and two broken legs. Even after recovering physically -- a process that
took years -- she suffered from an addiction to painkillers and entered the
Betty Ford Clinic in 1984.

"It was my only hope," Brennan told People
magazine in 1985. "I had reached the stage where I was taking anything I
could get my hands on."

Typical of her upbeat attitude, however, she told the magazine
she took pride in her recovery.

"Everyone hits bottom their own way," she said.
"Mine came through my accident, which led to my pill addiction, which led
to my birth. I say birth rather than rebirth because I feel born new. I
re-established a spiritual connection that is lost when you are taking any kind
of drug. Strangely enough I wouldn't have missed my accident. It just knocks me
out to say that, but I mean it."

Brennan also survived a bout with breast cancer in 1990.

Brennan was married to David John Lampson from 1968 to
1974. She is survived by two sons, Patrick Brennan and Sam Lampson.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Dominguinhos ("Little Dominic") was born José Domingos
de Morais in Garanhuns and was a Brazilian composer and singer.

He performed with musicians such as Luiz Gonzaga, Caetano
Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa (with whom he toured in Midem), Zé Ramalho,
Toquinho, and Maria Bethânia. Some of his hits were recorded by Bethânia, Gil,
Chico Buarque, Elba Ramalho, and Fagner. In 1997 Dominguinhos wrote the soundtrack
of the film O Cangaceiro.

In December 2012, Dominguinhos was taken to a hospital in
Recife with cardiac dysrhythmia and respiratory tract infection. He was later
transferred to the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital, in São Paulo, where his coma was
described as permanent and doctors say there are no hopes he will return and
wake up again.

Despite the declarations of his son, Dominguinhos was
still fighting for his life. He was minimally conscious, able to understand his
condition and the ones who surround him at the hospital.

Dominguinhos passed away in July 23, 2013, due to
infectious and cardiac complications, according to the Sírio-Libanês Hospital
in São Paulo, Brazil.

His credits include "Duel," "The Execution
of Private Slovik," "Blue Thunder" and "Romancing the
Stone."

Frank Morriss, an Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated film
editor who deftly cut such features and telefilms as The Execution of Private
Slovik, Duel, Blue Thunder and Romancing the Stone, has died. He was 85.

Morriss died July 3 at his home in Northridge, Calif.,
with Marlee, his wife of 47 years, at his side.

A frequent collaborator of director John Badham, Morriss
captured two editing Emmys for the 1974 NBC telefilm The Execution of Private
Slovik, starring Martin Sheen, and earned Oscar noms for his work on the action
thrillers Blue Thunder (1983), from Badham, and Robert Zemeckis' Romancing the
Stone (1984).

Beginning with 1974 Emmy-winning NBC telefilm The Law,
Morriss worked on about two dozen projects with Badham through 2004. They
teamed on such films as Bird on a Wire (1990), starring Mel Gibson and Goldie
Hawn; The Hard Way (1991) with Michael J. Fox and James Woods; Point of No
Return (1993) with Bridget Fonda; the Emilio Estevez comedy Another Stakeout
(1993); Drop Zone (1994) starring Wesley Snipes; and Nick of Time (1995) with
Johnny Depp.

Morriss began his career as a sound and music editor but
turned to pictures in the 1960s and '70s and worked on such television series
as Destry, It Takes a Thief, The Name of the Game and McCloud.

He co-edited Silent Life, a film starring director
Vladislav Kozlov as movie legend Rudolph Valentino that has not yet been
released.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Dennis Farina, a Chicago native and police officer who
turned to acting, has died at 69 in Arizona, his publicist said today.

Farina, best known as detective Joe Fontana on the
long-running TV series "Law & Order," suffered a blood clot in
his lung, publicist Lori De Waal said.

Farina was an 18-year veteran of the Chicago Police
Department, a detective who moonlighted on Chicago theater stages and in small
movie roles. In the 1980s he was on the NBC television series "Crime
Story."

He then became one of the stars of "Law &
Order," playing tough, nattily dressed Detective Joe Fontana.

Farina was born on Feb. 29, 1944, the fourth son and
youngest of the seven children of Joseph and Yolanda Farina. The father was a
doctor, the mother a homemaker, and they raised their kids in a home at 549 W.
North Ave. in an area that was then a working-class neighborhood with a broad
ethnic mix predominated by Italians and Germans.

He went to school right around the corner from his home,
at St. Michael's Elementary and St. Michael's Central High School.

After graduating from high school, Farina decided to
"get the Army out of the way" and served three years before returning
to Chicago. He worked for a while at the South Water produce market until, on
the advice of his older brother, a lawyer, he joined the police force and
studied criminal justice at Truman Junior College.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Franco De Gemini has died at age 84. Filippo de Masi, son
of Franco, the well-known composer, which is dedicated to the event, said:'' He
was a second father to me and an artist out of the ordinary. A huge pain that I
cannot even describe. Now you can play up there with Dad what you like, I just
wish we did not have to feel what has happened.''

Franco De Gemini, known for his talent with the harmonica,
was born in Ferrara on September 10, 1928. He spent his childhood, adolescence
and youth in Turin, where he learned to play in the orchestras of that city.
Franco became interested in the harmonica, in the second half of the 1940s, at
school and Torinesi Club. As a musician EIAR at the Festival of Sanremo, in
1953 began playing for several major film scores. The first is ''Pane, amore e
fantasia'' with Alessandro Cicognini (directed by Luigi Comencini). He then
enters the orchestra of the master Berto Pisano, with whom he recorded music
for television, recording in the studios of Fonit Cetra.

During his career as a musician De Gemini played with the
greatest masters of music in the history of Italy such as Francesco De Masi,
Piero Piccioni, Nicola Piovani, Armando Trovajoli, Riz Ortolani, Piero Umiliani,
Carlo Rustichelli, Franco Micalizzi and many others . During his life he
performed on over 800 soundtracks. One of his best performances was for West
Side Story, written by Leonard Bernstein, in 1961. In 1964 he collaborated with
Fabrizio De André, playing in reincisione of''La ballata dell'eroe''. Also the soundtrack of the Italian film ''Italiani
brava gente'' written by Armando Trovajoli, with nothing less than the
legendary Duetto flutist Severino Gazzelloni. In the midst of these
experiences, he became known for the films of Morricone. He took part in the
music of'' The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'', ''A Fistful of Dollars'', and
later “Once Upon a Time in the West'' and ''My Name Is Trinity''.

In 2006 he released a CD, "The Man with the
Harmonica ', in which he had added a better musical history. In 2007, however,
it was the turn of a book, From beat to
beat, in which De Gemini told about his experiences as an author,
accompanied by anecdotes.

An artist, a talent, a gentleman. Franco De Gemini has
been a source of pride for our nation. In his hands, the harmonica became a
festival of feelings and sensations. Difficult to repeat. Definitely
unforgettable.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

The outstanding musician and composer Julian Garza
Norteno Arredondo, known as "El Viejo Paulino", died last night July
17, 2013, in the company of his family at age 77 after suffering several health
problems.

His death occurred at his home in the town of Guadalupe
and her remains are expected to be veiled from this afternoon at the Chapels of
Carmen town and buried this morning in the Pantheon Los Pinos.

The last public appearance of the singer was in April
during a tribute that gave him the Mexican History Museum for his 40 year career
and which revealed his fragile health.

The musician, known in music as "El Viejo
Paulino", was born on August 19, 1935 in Los Ramones, Nuevo Leon, was the first
of three children of Jose Garza Leal and Maria Guadalupe Arredondo and a child
lay in the municipality of Guadalupe.

He was with his brother Luis and Julian duet, with which
it remained until 2003, which stood out for its particular style in their
interpretations to be considered "The Masters of the Bench".

The brothers were together for a period of 30 years in
the northern music concept, which accumulated more than 100 musical
productions.

According to the Society of Authors and Composers of
Mexico (SACM), "the stories told in the songs of Julian Garza caught the
attention of the movie industry, and were taken to develop scripts for films
like" The three graves. "

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Italian screenwriter Vincenzo Cerami died in Rome on July
17, 2013, at the age of 72 years. He was famous for having written "Life
is Beautiful', the award-winning film by Roberto Benigni for which he was
nominated for an Oscar in 1999.

Ill for some time, Cerami was also the author of the book
"A Little Man," which was made into another famous movie with Alberto
Sordi. Since June 2009, he held the position of Councillor for Culture of the
City of Spoleto.

The last gift he received on June 14 by Roberto Benigni
and Nicola Piovani. His old friends had gone to pick up the Special Career
David di Donatello that he could not receive, because he was too sick:
"Vincent is a great writer and is not look like anyone else," Benigni
said. "He’s a very generous person and very sweet, a sweetness that burns
in him, and one who puts his hand in his pocket and pulls out a storm. He
taught me many things, especially the inspiration of just waiting for the
amateurs and others roll up their sleeves and get right to work. He taught me
the syntax, how to build a synthesis script and the basis of all the poetic
dreams, when you write a movie and the story of a dream and you have to write
it in a precise manner. He was very precise, and the accuracy and had a quality
that belongs to the great visionaries.

Cerami was born in Rome on November 2, 1940 to Sicilian
parents. His meeting with Pier Paolo Pasolini, of which he was a student, was
instrumental in his formation. With him he made his debut in films in 1965 as
assistant director on three films: "Love Meetings", "Hawks and
the Sparrows" and the episode "The Witches" from the movie
"The Earth Seen from the Moon." Vincenzo was married to Graziella
Chiarcossi, cousin of Pier Paolo Pasolini. He leaves two children, actress
Aisha, born from the union with his first wife Mimsy Farmer, and Matthew, a
young director.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Tonino Accolla died July 14th in Rome,
after a long illness. He was not only a great Italian voice actor, but also
dialogue writer and director of dubbing countless films as well as a theater
director. Tonino was the legendary voice (and laugh) of actor Eddie Murphy,
Mickey Rourke, Kenneth Branagh and Homer Simpson and as Papa Smurf and many
other famous stars and animated characters. Accolla also directed the voiceovers
of some of the the biggest blockbusters Use (from 'The Silence of the innocent
'to' Titanic ', from' the Son of the Pink Panther 'to' Brave Heart ', just to
name a few). Accolla, who was born in Syracuse on April 9, 1949, was 64 years
old and had been ill for some time.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Actor Victor Lundin, best known to film fans for his
portrayal of Friday in Byron Haskin’s Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964), passed
away on June 29, 2013 at age 83 after an undisclosed illness.News of his passing first came to Cinema Retro
via Cinema Epoch’s Director of Acquisitions Douglas Dunning, who was a personal
friend of Mr. Lundin’s.It was also
confirmed by John Sempre, Jr.’s Facebook page (Mr. Sempre interviewed Mr.
Lundin and this audio interview can be heard in part one and part two on Vimeo)
as well as Zachary Lundin’s Facebook page (Victor’s son).

In addition to this film, Mr. Lundin appeared in the 1966
film version of Beau Geste, and appeared on television in episodes on some of
our favorite shows from the 1960’s, including The Time Tunnel, Get Smart, Star
Trek, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Mannix, and
Batman.

According to Mr. Sempre, Jr., one of Mr. Lundin’s last
screen appearances will be in the former’s upcoming web miniseries, Creeporia,
wherein he provided a brief cameo voice for an animated character (an evil
wizard) in the first episode. Creeporia will be released via streaming video in
October 2013.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) -- Joe Conley, an actor best
known as storekeeper Ike Godsey on the TV series "The Waltons," has
died at age 85.

The Los Angeles Times reports Tuesday that according to
wife Louise Conley, Joe Conley died at a care facility in Southern California
on Sunday. She says he had suffered from dementia.

A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Conley had bit parts on 1960s
series like "Green Acres" and "The Beverly Hillbillies"
before he landed the role on CBS's "The Waltons" in 1972 that would
last nearly a decade.

Conley played Ike Godsey, postmaster and owner of the
Jefferson County general store frequented by the Walton family in
Depression-era Virginia. He appeared in 172 episodes over nine seasons and in
TV movie reunions that lasted into the 1990s.

"Sensational!" - Probably no other statement
had generations of children shaped like this so much. Gisela Fritsch Pukaß lent
the raging reporter Karla Kolumna (Bibi, Benjamin the Elephant and Co.) her
voice. Now it has been learned through an obituary that appeared in the
"Tagesspiegel", friends and colleagues mourn the death of the
actress. The obit states that the 76-year-old died on July, 3, 2013. In 2006
she was given by the German Berliner an award for synchronous in the category
"Outstanding female dubbing work." In addition to the popular
children's character set to music Pukaß-Fritsch for the German market was the
voice of such actresses as Judi Dench, Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve.
She leaves behind her husband and daughter, both of which are voice actors. In
the hearts of many, the Grande Dame of the synchronous world will continue to
be remembered when the familiar "Hey!" in her signature role echoes
through the nursery.

The designer worked on television series and picked up
six awards 'Goya'

The costume and set designer Javier Artiñano, author of
over 80 plays and won 6 “Goya” Awards " including “El rey pasmado” and “Juana
la loca”, died yesterday July 4th in Madrid. He was 71 years-old.

The son of Spanish immigrants, he was born in 1942 in San
Pedro Montes de Oca, San José de Costa Rica, the country in which he spent his
childhood and adolescence then later moved to Spain. He attended high school in
Santander, Madrid and studied at the School of Fine Arts of San Fernando and
the Decorative Arts, where he learned his profession.

His first work of film costume began with “Las melancólicas”
(1971) directed by Rafael Moreno Alba.

His professionalism is supported by six awards 'Goya' and
a 'Max' for the Performing Arts. He worked with all the major Spanish
directors. On television series he designed costumes for “Fortunata y Jacinta”,
“Los gozos y las sombras” and “La regenta”. His six "Goyas" were for “El
bosque animado” (1988), “Esquilache” (1990), “El rey pasmado” (1992), “El
maestro de esgrima” (1993), “Lázaro de Tormes” (2001) and “Juana la Loca”»(2002).

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

The star passed away on Monday following a brief illness,
reports Deadline.com. Further details of his death were unavailable at press
time.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jenkins made his
movie debut in Roman Polanski's 1968 thriller Rosemary's Baby.

He reteamed with the filmmaker for an appearance in his
1974 crime drama Chinatown, but it was in Tv that he really found fame, scoring
small roles in 1970s series like M*A*S*H, Columbo, The Partridge Family and
Kojak.

However, he will perhaps be best remembered for his
portrayal of Professor Parks on family drama

The Waltons from 1974 to 1976, and
as Ed on Dynasty in 1981.

His other TV credits include The Rockford Files and
Starsky and Hutch, while he also appeared in more recent shows Ally MCBeal,
Party of Five, The West Wing and Cold Case.

Actor Buddy Garion passed away at the VA Hospital in Westwood, California on June 27, 2013 after battling lung cancer.

Garion's career started with an appearance as a reporter on the TV series 'Mr. Lucky' in 1960. He would go on to appear in over 20 films and TV appearances including "Ice Station Zebra" in 1968, 'Zebra Force" (1976) and such TV series as 'Star Trek' (1968), 'The A Team' (1984) and 'Matlock' (1987).

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

The actor Tony Vilas who had a long career in theater,
film and TV, died today at age 69. Although the cause of death was not reported,
it was revealed that Vilas was hospitalized a few weeks ago.

The actor had graduated from the National School of Drama
and was one of the figures featured the cast of the then General San Martin
Municipal Theatre, while the group existed.

There he was seen in "The invested" by José
González Castillo, in the memorable version of Alberto Ure, "Old
friends" by Roberto Cossa, directed by Daniel Marcove, "The
Tempest" by William Shakespeare, directed by Lluís Pasqual .

In these and other scenarios he was seen in
"Ghosts" by Henrik Ibsen, led by José María Paolantonio, "Paternoster"
by Jacobo Langsner, "Chronicle of the fall of one of the men in it,"
Daniel Veronese, directed by Salvador Lloveras, and "Twelve Angry
Men" by Reginald Rose, directed by China Zorrilla, among many other
productions.

Trinidad Guevara won the 1989 best actor for
"Antigone" by Sophocles, also directed by Ure, and appeared in
television cycles as "The strange lady", "black octopus",
"My name is Courage" and "Firsts ".

The film was summoned in 1968 to "Ufa with sex"
by Rodolfo Kuhn, never released by pressures of censorship then, but later
appeared in "Hippolytus and Evita", "The Return of Martin
Fierro", "Women's Correctional "," Obsession for revenge
"," Eva Peron "and" Wild "(1997).

About Me

Born in Toledo, Ohio in 1946 I have a BA degree in American History from Cal St. Northridge. I've been researching the American West and western films since the early 1980s and visiting filming sites in Spain and the U.S.A. Elected a member of the Spaghetti Western Hall of Fame 2010.